Thursday, December 26, 2019

Analysis Of The Locker Room By Bob Goldman, Patricia Bush,...

Many athletes are particularly trusting with regards to performance enhancers because many of them are eager to be the best in their respective sport. At the professional level, where athletes are expected to perform at high levels, many who are desperate to keep their jobs will do whatever they can to match the standard. In their book Death in the Locker Room, authors Bob Goldman, Patricia Bush, and Ronald Klatz discuss this immense pressure athletes feel to use PEDs. The authors explain how players often place this pressure on themselves because of an overwhelming desire to become famous, adored athletes. To investigate this urge, Goldman and his colleagues performed a study on 198 elite athletes, where the authors asked the athletes if they would take a drug that would give them unlimited athletic success for the next five years, but would kill them five years after that time. Shockingly, over half of the athletes admitted that they would. Goldman and his team’s findings showed that these athletes feel a practically overwhelming desire for success to the point that they would face an early death in order to secure their becoming glorious heroes. If the MLB were to allow athletes such as these access to any drug that were available, the consequences would be detrimental. Many professional baseball players, maybe as many as half, would take any and every drug despite all of the health risks and warnings just for short-lived fame. Goldman and his colleagues also

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Small Business Marketing Strategy - 1399 Words

Small Business Marketing Strategy Small Business Marketing Strategy Introduction Electronic resources comprising electronic marketing have continually shown how business men respond to the ever changing market situations through the provision of various resources and tools with which to run and manage marketing activities. There has been an emphasis on attributes of the soul electronic technologies e.g. SMS marketing (Doyle 2001; Griffiths 2003), M-Marketing (Barwise and Strong 2002) and Internet marketing. A summary definition encompassing the mentioned characteristics of electronic marketing refers to the process of facilitating marketing by applying electronic appliances, techniques, devices, tools, systems and technologies (Peterson 1997). Business Marketing Strategy Promotion and Design Marketing Strategies The advertising strategies of the organization should be made impacting to the market by increasing product demand which follows desirable designs. Well structured promotion will certainly increase the market price of the electronic products in the small business. Brand promotion can just but increase demand but cannot create it. Tasks associated with promotion are mainly: brand development, creating product image as well as brand loyalty. Marketing is all about advertising, which involves a cluster of activities whose objectives are to inform the user or customer through elements such as visual, audio and audio visual messages. This allows customers toShow MoreRelatedSmall Business Marketing Stradegy1639 Words   |  7 PagesSmall-Business Marketing Strategy Ricky Branch Strayer University BUS330 Prof. Beverly Williams 11 August 2012 Small-Business Marketing Strategy Marketing Strategy in a Small Business A small business is one that mainly has an independent ownership and operation. Its operation is organized for profit and has no dominant field. The number of employees in a small business depends on industry or rather its operation and standards size of its eligibilityRead MoreIs Social Networking an Effective Marketing Tool for Fashion Retail?930 Words   |  4 Pageseffective marketing tool for fashion retail? Marketing Strategies Many businesses have started to incorporate market strategies as a way of increasing profitability. Small business can create market strategies to target their market more effectively and have a competitive edge over competition. Lyndon Simkin, (2000) stated â€Å"If the â€Å"right† opportunities are pursued, customers are properly probed, the â€Å"right† customers targeted with a marketing proposition designed to give a business an edge overRead MoreE Mail Marketing : The Most Important Tool For Improving Customer Service, Engaging Customers, And Advertising1627 Words   |  7 Pagesillustrating nearly half of the survey participants believed they utilized digital marketing â€Å"poorly or very poorly.† Conversely, 7% of respondents described their current digital marketing as â€Å"very good or excellent.† Findings reflect digital marketing channels used most often were company websites, SEO and social media; however, none of which were used very a ctively. Roughly half of the respondents considered their website as the most important tool for increasing sales. Correspondingly, websitesRead MoreThe Business Objectives Of Markexcite1736 Words   |  7 Pagesconsulting-oriented company located in London. The company is a sole proprietorship with Shahan Habib as the founder and sole employee. Markexcite plans to fill the gap in the market for a customer-focused and professional advertising and marketing company.The company emphasizes on marketing support and advertising services on such a level which differentiate it from its competitors. Our services are positioned very conscientiously so that they can be of extremely high quality, relevant, timely and accurate. TheyRead MoreInternet Promotion - Advantages and Disadvantages1127 Words   |  5 Pagesemergence of globalise trade, increase in foreign investment and cross-border transactions have put many small businesses under pressure to find innovative ways to continue to mar ket their products and services. This is especially difficult given that they often operate on tight marketing budgets. In the quest for cheap marketing alternatives, these small businesses continue to use conventional marketing tools such as newspaper, magazine, radio and television advertisements, unaware of the advantages thatRead MoreMarketing, Financing, and Production Factors in Developing a Franchaise798 Words   |  3 Pagesanalyze small business development strategy by using marketing, finance, and production factors. These factors are pertinent when developing a franchise. Growth and success in a franchise business is determine by the market analysis and financial planning. However, with proper distribution the production factors will occur once the customers are aware of the business. The franchising of business is started by several different aspects, the business models as a small business growthRead MoreInternet Promotion : Advantages And Disadvantages Essay1180 Words   |  5 Pagesemergence of globalise trade, increase in foreign investment and cross-border transactions have put many small businesses under pressure to find innovative ways to continue to market their products and services. This is especially difficult given that they often operate on tight marketing budgets. In the quest for cheap marketing alternatives, these small businesses continue to use conventional marketing tools such as newspaper, magazine, radio and television advertisements, unaware of the advantages thatRead MoreSuccessful Marketing Strategies Essay1019 Words   |  5 PagesMarketing is a vital component in the success of businesses. Smaller businesses rely on business advertising, expenses, knowing if the business is networking with the right people, or joining the best organisations which lead to success (EStartup business blog, 2010). Marketing concentrates on customers and what the customers want. Customers are the source of sales and profits. Many small businesses are faced with remarkable hardships due to not developing the right marketing plan (EStartup businessRead MoreCommunication Paper Analysis: Implementing Social Media Strategies826 Words   |  3 PagesCommunication Paper Analysis Financial Plan Implementing social media strategies and platforms within business practices would not prove to be an extremely costly endeavor. Rather than having to purchase expensive software or network structures, there are a number of available companies that help split the burden of operating many new programs at a fraction of the cost of generation a completely new concept. The current organization can then capitalize on the costs associated with implementingRead MoreWhat Are the Specific Characteristics of the International Marketing Activities Designed and Implemented by Small Firms?1266 Words   |  6 PagesInternational Marketing What are the specific characteristics of the international marketing activities designed and implemented by small firms? As defined Robert W. Rowden (Thunderbird International Business Review, March-April 2001), a small firm (with a maximum of 50 employees) is centralized and personalized through management of an owner-manager. This type of organization provides some advantage such as proximity between manager and employees because there is less hierarchy. Furthermore

Monday, December 9, 2019

Nursing Practice Developing Practical Nursing Skill

Question: Discuss about theNursing Practice for Developing Practical Nursing Skill. Answer: Introduction: What: I arrived on the ward at around 8.00 a.m. and I usually start my day with assisting the patients with their morning session daily activities. While assisting in daily activities, one of the patients, I came across was Mr. A. He was admitted to the hospital for the management of the neuropathic pain. I was asking Mr. A about his toilet use and whether he needs assistance. He became angry on me and started shouting at me and my colleague. He was wishing to meet his son. He was arguing that, hospital people are keeping him away from his son. However we know that his son died 2 years ago in a train accident. It has been well established that people with dementia has good memory of the past (Jacques Jackson 2000). Even though in the current situation it is not a reality, they feel or realize past facts and demand for past fact. Even though it was uneasy situation for me, I kept cool and tried to convince him and made him realize that his wish is not reality now. I was fortunate tha t situation got resolved and Mr. A became calm and he was ready to take assistance for toilet use. So What: I had mixed feelings in that incidence and I was confused about my words. Whether I said anything wrong to him. I felt awkward at that time and was upset with myself. Because, I was feeling, I disturbed a stable patient and due to me only, he became agitated. I also felt that other patients in the ward got disturbed due to this incidence and other patients thought I did something wrong with Mr.A. At the same I became sad because, I forced Mr. A to memories his expired son. Even though, I was afraid in that condition, I kept myself calm and handled situation to make him calm. Ethics and professional practice in nursing mentioned about not to unrestrained patient (Roberts and Dyer, 2004). Now my feeling is very satisfied and I feel happy that I did good job to handle the situation. I also got the confidence that I can handle such situations in the future also. My feelings are completely different from the feelings at the time of incidence. At the time of incidence, I was afraid and confused, but now I am confident and satisfied. Overall effect of my action was positive. I understand that Mr. A has dementia problem so that I can take care of him in that direction. Also, Mr. A went to toilet and completed his routine daily activities. This is important in nursing practice to complete patients daily activities in smooth and comfortable manner (Baillie, 2005). This helps in making patient stable. Positive outcome of the incidence is that, I followed ethical and professional practices in the adverse conditions. This is very important in nursing practice to follow these practices in adverse conditions (Grace, 2013). Negative impact of this incidence on me is that I got abus ed from the patient, for whom I was taking so much care for his well-being. For me this situation was very good learning and it gave me opportunity to evaluate my behavior in difficult situations. I realized that these practices, I cant learn from classrooms or textbooks. Experience and handling real time case like Mr. A case can teach to handle such situations. I realized that my effective communication, holistic approach for patient care and positive attitude towards patients condition, helped me to handle this incident to produce positive outcome form this incident (Thresyamma, 2005). Even tough, I was handling this condition independently for the first time, I learned and grasped skills and aptitude to handle such situations from my mentor. I observed him handling such situations in couple of instances. Few people may have different feeling as compared to me in that situation. I handled that situation in more democratic way. I understood his state of mind and took him in confide nce and made him calm. However, few people may have different view and approach on this situation. They might handle this condition in more autocratic manner and giving only orders to complete the daily activities. This type of approach might have led to negative consequence and Mr. A might got more irritated and that might be trouble for all the people in the ward. In handling this situation other nurse and ward boy helped me. They helped me in assisting him physically to take to the toilet and two other senior members in the ward to calm down him. I felt troubled in facing Mr. A next time because, he may not like my assistance because he had bad experience with me. However, due to his dementia, he forgot that incidence and that gave me moral boost to provide nursing practice to him. It is evident that patients having dementia can have such behavior in few instances. In such instances, these patients become more agitated and emotionally disturbed. In reality, these patients dont wi sh to harm or hurt anybody physically, emotionally and psychotically (Adams and Gardiner, 2005). However, this occurs due to lack of control on themselves. Being a nurse, I know this fact and knowledge of this fact helped me take quick decisions about Mr. A and this make sense to respond to his aggressive reactive reaction. Now what: I learned that effective communication with the dementia patients is very important because these patients forget very easily and they are unaware of actual reality. If I would not have done anything for Mr. A, he might have got more irritated and his daily activities might have got disturbed and this might led to more psychological and biological problems in Mr. A. I could have prevented this incidence from happening. It is evident that patients are more cooperative and understands more, if they are provided with person centered care. In this person centered care there is good reputation between patient and nurses (Colomer and de Vries, 2016). It is well established that communication with dementia patient is very difficult task for nurse. However, person centered care would help to have good communication among them and it helps to avoid such aggressive behavior of the patient. Next time, I will focus on person centered care in such patients. This incident also helped me to identify gaps in my mental and psychological knowledge and definitely I will look into it and bridge this gap by acquiring more knowledge and experience (Jensen and Inker, 2015). So that, I can handle such situations more effectively. For improving this knowledge I should discuss with my seniors about their experiences. After getting positive outcome in this case, I got more confidence and moral boost in my nursing practice. As a result, in future I will take more challenges in clinical setting and handle these cases effectively by implementing my knowledge, skills, techniques and experience. References: Adams, T., and Gardiner, P. (2005). Communication and interaction within dementia care triads Developing a theory for relationship-centred care. Dementia, 4(2), pp. 185-205. Baillie, L. (2005) Developing Practical Nursing Skills .London: Hodder Arnold. Colomer, J. and de Vries, J. (2016). Person-centred dementia care: a reality check in two nursing homes in Ireland. Dementia, 15(5), pp. 1158-1170. Grace, P.J. (2013). Nursing Ethics and Professional Responsibility in Advanced Practice. (2nd ed.). Jones Bartlett Learning. Jensen, C.J. and Inker, J. (2015). Strengthening the Dementia Care Triad Identifying Knowledge Gaps and Linking to Resources. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, 30(3), pp. 268-275. Jacques, A and Jackson, G (2000) Understanding Dementia. London: Churchill Livingstone Roberts, T. G., Dyer, J. E. (2004). Student teacher perceptions of the characteristics of effective cooperating teachers: A delphi study. Proceedings of the 2004 Southern Agricultural Education Research Conference, pp. 180-192. Thresyamma, C.P. (2005). Fundamentals of Nursing. Procedure Manual for General Nursing and Midwifery Course. Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers Pvt Ltd.

Monday, December 2, 2019

The Gentrification Theory Ruth Glass Essay Example For Students

The Gentrification Theory: Ruth Glass Essay The Gentrification Theory: A Brief Description.Since Ruth Glass first coined the term back in 1964, in order to explain the forced displacement of low-income groups from the inner city areas (Lees et.al, 2008), gentrification has been one of the most popular theories discussed among social and urban specialists.The initial hypothesis states that gentrification is a process lead by middle to high-income people, generally represented under the tags of young families with managerial jobs, real estate investment firms, or the rise of the cognitive-cultural entrepreneur class (Scott, 2008). It starts with the partial integration of these groups in lower- income inner-city neighbourhoods. We will write a custom essay on The Gentrification Theory: Ruth Glass specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The settlement of these higher income classes, attracted to live in these urban enclaves, triggers the shift of local communities’ social structures. Hence, as a result of a constant rise of the prices that affect the people’s rents and the commercial services in the surroundings, the original residents are forced to leave their own homes.In summary, gentrification is a process that fosters social displacement (Lees et.al, 2008), which is perceivable in the change of the neighbourhood environment aesthetics, encompassed and justified by speeches of urban renewal or the rebirth of the old inner city.However, tracing the roots of gentrification is not a standard process, as the phenomenon’s characteristics may differ according to the context where the theory is applied. It involves complex social relationships, cultural shifts, and global economy pressures that are shaped in diverse forms throughout the city’s landscape, among other factors. These may be some of the main reasons why gentrification studies have been generally carried out under the lo. .he number of people belonging to middle and high income classes, since these groups compose an important part of the agents of gentrification. Nonetheless, other institutions and catalysts as banks and policy implementation, which may empower these new emergent classes and the acquisition of houses in the inner-city neighbourhoods, are also considered to be agents of gentrification.Works Cited†¢ Gerring, J. (2001). Social science methodology: A criterial framework. Cambridge University Press.†¢ Inzulza-Contardo, J. (2012). ‘Latino gentrification’?: focusing on physical and socioeconomic patterns of change in Latin American inner cities. Urban Studies, 49(10), 2085-2107. †¢ Lees, L., Slater, T., Wyly, E. (2008). Gentrification. Routledge. †¢ Allen Scott (2008), Social Economy of the Metropolis; Cognitive-Cultural Capitalism and the Global Resurgence of Cities.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

The Japanese Internment essays

The Japanese Internment essays Throughout history, Canada has relatively been a supporter of multiculturalism. In the past Canada has had very few racial conflict, although there has been one incident which has had quite a controversial effect about human rights violations and discrimination. This thorn in Canada's side is the Japanese Internment which took place during the second world war. The Japanese Internment took place between the years of 1941 and 1949. At the time most of the Japanese population was concentrated in British Columbia, on the West Coast of Canada. The Japanese first immigrated to Canada to work on the rail road in 1900. By 1921 the Japanese population numbered nearly 16000 people and had possessed nearly half of the fishing licenses in British Columbia. In 1941 23000 Japanese were living throughout Canada. On December 7 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After the attack there government took all Japanese owned boats, radios, and cameras. After the public pressured the government, and they took action and the government moved all Japanese from a 100 mile wide security strip along the B.C. coast. Later the government gave a further statement that declared that all people of Japanese origin were considered aliens until the end of World War II. In the first year of the war the 21000 Japanese who were affected by the war regulations, were sent to various provinces across Canada. The government assured the provinces that the Japanese would stay in agriculture and would be removed after the war, at the provinces request. The remaining 12000 Japanese were taken to Interior Housing Centers in the middle of B.C. These housing centers consisted of four abandoned mining towns and two completely new communities. During the internment the Canadian Government claimed all the Japanese's land and possessions and sold them for a factor of the original cost. The government called this land claim's. ...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Prehistoric Life During the Cambrian Period

Prehistoric Life During the Cambrian Period Before the Cambrian period, 542 million years ago, life on earth consisted of single-celled bacteria, algae, and only a handful of multicellular animalsbut after the Cambrian, multi-celled vertebrate and invertebrate animals dominated the worlds oceans. The Cambrian was the first period of the Paleozoic Era (542-250 million years ago), followed by the Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian periods; all of these periods, as well as the succeeding Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras, were dominated by the vertebrates that first evolved during the Cambrian. The Climate and Geography of the Cambrian Period Not a lot is known about the global climate during the Cambrian period, but the unusually high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (about 15 times those of the present day) imply that the average temperature may have exceeded 120 degrees Fahrenheit, even near the poles. Eighty-five percent of the earth was covered with water (compared to 70 percent today), most of that area being taken up by the huge Panthalassic and Iapetus oceans; the average temperature of these vast seas may have been in the range of 100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. By the end of the Cambrian, 488 million years ago, the bulk of the planets land mass was locked up in the southern continent of Gondwana, which had only recently broken off from the even bigger Pannotia of the preceding Proterozoic Era. Marine Life During the Cambrian Period Invertebrates. The major evolutionary event of the Cambrian period was the Cambrian Explosion, a rapid burst of innovation in the body plans of invertebrate organisms. (Rapid in this context means over the course of tens of millions of years, not literally overnight!) For whatever reason, the Cambrian witnessed the appearance of some truly bizarre creatures, including the five-eyed Opabinia, the spiky Hallucigenia, and the three-foot-long Anomalocaris, which was almost certainly the largest animal ever to appear on earth up to that time. Most of these arthropods left no living descendants, which has fueled speculation about what life in succeeding geologic epochs might have looked like if, say, the alien-looking Wiwaxia was an evolutionary success. As striking as they were, though, these invertebrates were far from the only multicellular life forms in the earths oceans. The Cambrian period marked the worldwide spread of the earliest plankton, as well as trilobites, worms, tiny mollusks, and small, shelled protozoans. In fact, the abundance of these organisms is what made the lifestyle of Anomalocaris and its ilk possible; in the way of food chains throughout history, these larger invertebrates spent all their time feasting on the smaller invertebrates in their immediate vicinity. Vertebrates. You wouldnt have known it to visit the earths oceans 500 million years ago, but vertebrates, and not invertebrates, were destined to become the dominant animals on the planet, at least in terms of body mass and intelligence. The Cambrian period marked the appearance of the earliest identified proto-vertebrate organisms, including Pikaia (which possessed a flexible notochord rather than a true backbone) and the slightly more advanced Myllokunmingia and Haikouichthys. For all intents and purposes, these three genera count as the very first prehistoric fish, though theres still a chance that earlier candidates may be discovered dating from the late Proterozoic Era. Plant Life During the Cambrian Period There is still some controversy about whether any true plants existed as far back as the Cambrian period. If they did, they consisted of microscopic algae and lichens (which dont tend to fossilize well). We do know that macroscopic plants like seaweeds had yet to evolve during the Cambrian period, giving their noticeable absence in the fossil record. Next: the Ordovician Period

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The American empire Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The American empire - Personal Statement Example Previously, a good number of individual’s perspectives were totally on their families and the society, a certain neighborhood was used to form feasible and economical empires which ruled the others. The African and Asian empires which were acquired by the western authorities through the industrialized rebellion came to an end due to foreign law that tore apart the restricted as well as the provincial ways of uniqueness that held the imperial firmness and endurance. The organization wanted neighboring associates but the empire was already paralyzed since the input in the system became impossible. Furthermore, the dominated populations are equipped ready to frustrate the colonial imperative. This is strengthened by the simplicity at which everything is flowing in the regions and largely the globe (Parsons, 2012) In real sense, the Roman has extremely so minimal significances to the current America. The United States and the orthodox Rome have a common blissful and afflicted exce ptionalism. This was experienced in America when Winthrop uplifted his people who wanted to inhabit the Massachusetts Bay Colony to the seven hills. From this time, different head of states described America in a similar way as how Cicero described the Romans and the faultless urban in the leading seven hills. Rome defeated many countries irrespective of their mightiness in different perspective like, corporal power as portrait by the Gaul, unevenness of the Carthaginians, Spanish who had the numbers , Greeks who led in traditions as well as the Latin’s and Italy who astute the intelligence and got the empire (Isaacson, 2007). As cited by Isaacson (2007), the major thing that strengthened the Roman authority for so many years was its triumphant armed forces. Others included the enlargement of the most recent technology as well as the large statistics of the new born alongside a firm council and more assets to keep their expectations. They also had an excellent way of disposin g waste, good infrastructure, and good machines for plumbing which other counties including America lacked. In times of war, Rome had to select from its overwhelming list of choices. The defense forces were largely made of very powerful warriors. In addition, they were in possession of incomparable horses, thus the combination was used as a great aspect in war. Using their total strength, on their flanks they enclosed their enemies thus overpowering them (Isaacson, 2007). They progressed unto the time hi tech was used to wreak fatal destruction upon their enemies using blockade equipments. Any nation that was defeated by the Romans profitably increased the treasury and the funds were in turn used by their defense forces in purchase of newest arms as well in encouraging the soldiers. By these attacks they claimed so many countries including Spain, France, and Italy, just to mention but a few. The Roman Empire also brought into knowledge the Christianity religion to Europeans, a fact that makes it of great influence to many things that were set to happen afterwards and this altered the globe at large. They will forever be remembered and honored for their strong principles, way of life and inventiveness. In contrast to other states like the earlier Roman Empire, America fails to satisfy the ever rising discussion of whether it is a modern empire since the normal form of imperialism rule is no longer a consideration in the present

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in University of East London Essay

Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in University of East London Academic Libraries in Docland Campus - Essay Example The campus must try to perceive the expectations of the customer for the internet services, to provide the best service. East London Academic Libraries in Docland Campus is one of the famous libraries on U K. Various types of services are provided by this university to people who need it. Also, this library has sophisticated, modern outlook. This library consists of almost 1250 internet hubs for the use of the learners. An individual, group or business firm that has direct or indirect share in a business for the reason that it can influence or be influenced by the business actions, aims and rules. Key stakeholders in a trade business consist of creditors, consumers, administrators, workers, government, proprietors, dealers, unions, and the society from which the industry draws its resources. â€Å"Some are in labs, others in resource centres. The uni accommodation is nearly all served by wired connections to the uni network too - be careful to see if the rest is able to have any int ernet connection. You'd think it should, but the comments on the unis website make you wonder... Many of the facilities are accessible 24 hours a day. Others will shut at 9pm and may not be available all day if the room is used as a classroom. Teaching rooms across campus have Concepts and Evaluation of the quality of the customer service of the internet service: Customer satisfaction of consumers of Costco Wholesale Corporation helps to assess how goods offered by the Costco wholesale corporation meet the expectations of the client. This element is required to be properly monitored and translated into a number of assessable parameters. In the modern day, customer satisfaction for business organisations has developed its significance. The customer satisfaction for the services provided by the University of East London Academic Libraries in Docland Campus may decrease if the campus fails to meet the expectations of the customer. Good customer service helps to increase the customer lo yalty towards the products. So that before offering products, the organization can identify the requirement of the consumer regarding the product. The campus of East London is one of the flourishing modern campuses, which is progressively more popular for superiority in both education and study. This university is ranked as the No 1 campus in the United Kingdom. One of the recent campus enlargement plans is the Internet service or Information technology suits. A service blueprint of the University East London Academic Libraries in Docland Campus is a graphical or illustrational demonstration of the procedure engaged in offering a service. The function of the service blueprint is to offer an understanding of the various service procedures to the populace engaged in offering these services. It is also a practical instrument for assessing the efficiency of obtainable service procedures and designing such innovative or superior procedures. â€Å"Computing and multimedia facilities are available for general use, along with specialist subject-specific facilities in our academic schools. Free wi-fi internet access Over 1,500 networked computers providing free email and internet access, software including MS Office, specialist learning and teaching packages, and statistical

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Sodium Thiosulphate Coursework Essay Example for Free

Sodium Thiosulphate Coursework Essay We must produce a piece of coursework investigating the rates of reaction, and the effect different changes have on them. The rate of reaction is the rate of loss of a reactant or the rate of formation of a product during a chemical reaction. It is measured by dividing 1 by the time taken for the reaction to take place. There is five factors which affect the rate of a reaction, according to the collision theory of reacting particles: temperature, concentration (of solution), pressure (in gases), surface are (of solid reactants), and catalysts. I have chosen to investigate the effect temperature and concentration have on a reaction. This is because they are the most practical to investigate it would take longer to prepare a solid in powdered and unpowdered form, and it is difficult to get accurate readings due to the inevitabilities of human errors, and as gas is mostly colourless it is difficult to gauge a reaction changing the pressure, and if a substance is added to give the gas colour, it may influence the outcome of the experiment. Similarly the use of a catalyst complicates things, and if used incorrectly could alter the outcome of the experiment. Experiment 1 Changing the concentration 5 cm3 of HCl (at concentration 1 mol./dm3) and 15 cm3 of sodium thiosulphate (at varying concentrations 10 to 35 g/dm3) are poured out into two measuring cylinders and then poured into a conical flask, which is placed on top of a board marked with letter X. The stopwatch will now be started. When the mixture has turned sufficiently cloudy so that the letter X can no longer be seen the stopwatch will be stopped and the time will be recorded. The experiment is repeated with all the concentrations. The whole procedure is then repeated. Experiment 2 Changing the temperature 5 cm of HCl (at concentration 1 mol./dm3) and 15 cm of sodium thiosulphate (at varying concentrations 10 to 35 g/dm3) are poured out into two measuring cylinders. A beaker is half filled with hot water from a tap. The water is placed on top of a Bunsen on a blue flame and the two measuring placed inside the water bath. The water is heated to the necessary temperature (30?C to 70?C) then the two measuring cylinders are taken out and the contents of both are poured into a conical cylinder. The time it takes for the X to disappear is timed and recorded. The experiment is repeated using all the temperatures. The entire procedure is the repeated. Repeat results and averages will be taken to improve the credibility of the findings, and present solid grounding for the final conclusion. The repeat results will help to iron out any anomalies and the average will give a good summary of the results of the experiment. However if one set of results is entirely different to the other, a third experiment will be performed to replace the anomalous set of results. Safety A pair of goggles will be worn during the heating part of the experiment in order to protect the eyes. An apron will also be worn to protect the skin and clothing. When handling hot beakers and measuring cylinders a pair of tongs will be used. A gauze and heatproof mat will be used while heating to avoid any damage to the equipment. Fair Test In order for my findings to be valid the experiment must be a fair one. I will use the same standard each time for judging when the X has disappeared. I will make sure that the measuring cylinders for the HCl and thiosulphate will not be mixed up. The amount of HCl will be 5 cm3 each time, and the amount of thiosulphate will be fixed at 15 cm3. During the heating stage of the experiment, a blue flame will be used throughout. Also the same Bunsen burner and gas tap will be used to maintain continuity. All of these precautions will make my final results more reliable and keep anomalies at a minimum so thus make the entire investigation more successful. Prediction I predict that as the temperature is increased the rate of reaction will increase. I also predict that as the concentration of the sodium thiosulphate increases the rate of reaction will increase. This means that both graphs drawn up in my analysis will have positive correlation, and will probably be curved as the increase in rate of reaction will not be exactly the same as the concentrationtemperature is increased. This can be justified by relating to the collision theory. When the temperature is increased the particles will have more energy and thus move faster. Therefore they will collide more often and with more energy. Particles with more energy are more likely to overcome the activation energy barrier to reaction and thus react successfully. If solutions of reacting particles are made more concentrated there are more particles per unit volume. Collisions between reacting particles are therefore more likely to occur. All this can be understood better with full understanding of t he collision theory itself: For a reaction to occur particles have to collide with each other. Only a small percent result in a reaction. This is due to the energy barrier to overcome. Only particles with enough energy to overcome the barrier will react after colliding. The minimum energy that a particle must have to overcome the barrier is called the activation energy, or Ea. The size of this activation energy is different for different reactions. If the frequency of collisions is increased the rate of reaction will increase. However the percent of successful collisions remains the same. An increase in the frequency of collisions can be achieved by increasing the concentration, pressure, or surface area. Concentration If the concentration of a solution is increased there are more reactant particles per unit volume. This increases the probability of reactant particles colliding with each other. Pressure If the pressure is increased the particles in the gas are pushed closer. This increases the concentration and thus the rate of reaction. Surface Area If a solid is powdered then there is a greater surface area available for a reaction, compared to the same mass of unpowdered solid. Only particles on the surface of the solid will be able to undergo collisions with the particles in a solution or gas. The particles in a gas undergo random collisions in which energy is transferred between the colliding particles. As a result there will be particles with differing energies. Maxwell-Boltzmann energy distribution curves show the distribution of the energies of the particles in a gas. The main points to note about the curves are: 1. There are no particles with zero energy. 2. The curve does not touch the x-axis at the higher end, because there will always be some particles with very high energies. 3. The area under the curve is equal to the total number of particles in the system. 4. The peak of the curve indicates the most probable energy. The activation energy for a given reaction can be marked on the distribution curve. Only particles with energy equal or greater than the activation energy can react when a collision occurs. Although Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution curves are for the particles in a gas, the same distributions can be used for the particles in a liquid or solid. Effects of a temperature change The graph below shows Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution graphs for a fixed mass of gas at two temperatures T1 and T2, where T2 is roughly 10?C higher than T1. The total area under the curve remains the same, since there is no change in the number of particles present. A small increase in temperature causes significant changes to the distribution energies. At the higher temperature: 1. The peak is at a higher energy. 2. The peak is lower. 3. The peak is broader. 4. There is a large increase in the number of particles with higher energies. It is the final change that results increase in rate, even with a relatively small increase in temperature. A small increase in temperature greatly increases the number of particles with energy greater than the activation energy. The shaded areas on the energy distribution curves show this. Effect of a catalyst A catalyst works by providing an alternative reaction pathway that has lower activation energy. A catalyst does not alter the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Because a catalyst provides a reaction route of lower activation energy, however, a greater proportion of particles will have energy greater than the activation energy. Analysis In this experiment I have found that as the temperature and concentration is increased the time taken for the reaction to take place decreases. This means the rate of reaction increasers as it takes less time for a reaction to take place, so more take place per second. In the temperature experiment the time taken for a reaction to take place decreased by roughly 10 to 15 seconds for every 10?C increase in temperature, with the one anomaly being the 30?C reading. There is also a trend in the increase in rate of reaction as the temperature increases. The difference is always more or less 0.02 s-1, with the same exception. Using the graphs, with lines of best fit, I can draw a conclusion from my experiment. Firstly I can see that with the time graphs (that plot temperature and concentration against time taken for the reaction to take place) the graphs have negative correlation in both cases, meaning that as the temperatureconcentration increased the time taken for the reaction to take place decreases. The time graph for the temperature experiment has a much steeper curve than the one for the concentration experiment, meaning that the decrease in time taken for the reaction was far more rapid. Naturally, the above means that the both the graphs plotting rate against temperature and concentration have positive correlation as the temperature and concentration are increased so does the rate of reaction. This is because when the temperature is increased the particles will have more energy and thus move faster. Therefore they will collide more often and with more energy. Particles with more energy are more likely to overcome the activation energy barrier to reaction and thus react successfully, and when solutions of reacting particles are made more concentrated there are more particles per unit volume. Collisions between reacting particles are therefore more likely to occur. The graph for concentration shows that when the concentrations were relatively low (10, 15, 20 g/dm3), the increase of rate x1000 was also fairly small (increasing from 4.47 to 6.71 to 9.47). There was then a gradual increase in the difference, and between 30 and 35 g/dm3 the rate more than doubled from 17.90 to 37.56s-1. This shows that there are far more collisions at a concentration of 35 g/dm3 than at 30 g/dm3. The graph plotting time against the rate of reaction x1000 shows that the difference of rate between increasing temperatures (excluding the anomaly of 30?C) was pretty much regular, increasing in steps of 6-10 (9.17 to 15.37 to 24.28 to 31.67). However, once again there is a giant gap in the last temperature increase at 60?C the RoR x1000 is 31.67 s-1, and at 70?C it is 57.03 s-1. For this to fully make sense it is necessary to recap the collision theory briefly: For a reaction to occur particles have to collide with each other. Only a small percent result in a reaction. This is due to the energy barrier to overcome. Only particles with enough energy to overcome the barrier will react after colliding. The minimum energy that a particle must have to overcome the barrier is called the activation energy, or Ea. The size of this activation energy is different for different reactions. If the  frequency of collisions is increased the rate of reaction will increase. However the percent of successful collisions remains the same. An increase in the frequency of collisions can be achieved by increasing the concentration, pressure, or surface area.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Free Essays: The Many Challenges of Homers Odyssey :: Homer Odyssey Essays

The Many Challenges of Homer's Odyssey In The Odyssey, Odysseus had to face many challenges during his travels; a few of these difficulties were a cannibalistic Cyclops, huge whirlpools, determined suitors, along with many hardships. Odysseus fought constantly to return to his homeland of Ithaca, but to accomplish this Odysseus had to be clever, resourceful, and have great leadership qualities. Odysseus proved throughout the story that he was very clever. When he was faced with having to get out of Polyphemus's cave, Odysseus first told the Cyclops, "My name is Nohbdy: mother, father, and friends, / everyone calls me Nohbdy". (pg. 452, 341-342) Odysseus told him this because he knew if the other Cyclopes would come and ask who was with him, they would think that "Nohbdy" was there. In another episode, Odysseus outsmarted the Sirens; he wanted to listen to their sweet song, but he knew he would try to jump overboard. It was then he got the notion to tell his crew, "...you are to tie me up, tight as a splint, / erect along the mast, lashed to the mast, / and if I shout and beg to be untied, / take more turns of rope to muffle me." (pg. 459, 536-539) This and telling the crew members to put wax in their ears ensured that Odysseus, alone, could listen to the Sirens' song and not die. When Odysseus had to figure out how he could kill the Suitors who were staying in his house, he had Athena disguise him as an old beggar and then told Telemachus, his son, to hide all of the Suitors' weapons and armor. If they asked Telemachus what he was doing, he was to tell them he was storing the weapons so that none of the suitors would kill each other if they got into a fight. Many times throughout the story, Odysseus had to be resourceful enough to accomplish a task by using surrounding things, whatever was at hand. When he was drifting back towards Charybdis, Odysseus grabbed onto a nearby fig tree and held on until a piece of driftwood shot out of the whirlpool; then he grabbed a hold of the driftwood and soared to safety. In order to escape from the Cyclops's cave, Odysseus wanted to blind the Cyclops.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Making and receiving telephone calls Essay

The Learner will: 1.Understand how to make telephone calls. 1.2 Give reasons for identifying the purpose of a call before making it. To not waste time, so you are aware what information you need and are therefore able to ask the right questions. It is also important as you will sound professional and organised, which will reflect well upon the company you work for. It may be a good idea to have a checklist written down of all you need to know, this way you won’t forget anything and you can avoid having to call back later for forgotten information. This will prove to be a much more efficient way of working and save time. For example: If I was at work and I needed to phone a GP surgery to do with a fax that they’d sent through. I would firstly make sure I had the fax in front of me with the relevant patient information on. This way when I speak to the surgery I will have all the information to hand they may initially ask for before they are then able to assist me with my query. It is important to think through a conversation before making the call to ensure you are prepared and have the knowledge they may need. Again if I was phoning another department within the hospital trying to locate a set of patient notes I would make sure I could tell them, the patient name and medical record number, where the notes are traced to on the computer and on what day, time and by who, if they have any appointments booked soon and where and if there was any useful information on the most recent pin note, all of this would help narrow down the search to locate the patient’s notes. 1.3 Describe different ways of obtaining the names and numbers of people that need to be contacted. If you know the name of the company you need to contact then you could look up their contact details on their website on the Internet. You could also use an online phone book like the yellow pages website for most contact details. You could simply ask someone within your office/department if they have the contact details to hand as it may have been someone they have dealt with before. At Musgrove we  have the intranet, our internal website, on this you can find lots of information about the hospital, including an internal directory, where you can find out anyone’s extension number who works within the hospital by adding in their name or department. I also have a list of contacts on my pin board for numbers within our department and for the rest of the hospital. If I need to make calls to GP surgeries or surrounding hospitals I usually go on google and find them easily that way . 1.4 Describe how to use a telephone system to make contact with people inside and outside an organisation. In Musgrove we have a system that I imagine is the same with most businesses. To make an outside call you simply press 9 to gain an outside line and then type in the number you require, including the area code if needed. With internal calls you simply need to enter the 4 digit extension number for the appropriate person in the appropriate department. If you are unsure of the extension number for the call you need to make internally you can simply go on Musgrove’s intranet and use their internal directory. Here you can enter their name and/or department and it will bring up their contact information i.e email address and extension number. 1.6 Explain the purpose of summarising the outcomes of a telephone conversation before ending the call. It is important to make sure and clarify that all the information is correct and accurate so you are both aware of agreed times and goals etc, avoiding any confusion. It will avoid wires getting crossed as it is not recorded like in an email to look over after, this is also why it’s always advisable to make a note of the telephone conversation. 1.7 Describe how to identify problems and who to refer them to. If someone phones the department with a problem and it is not something I can deal with I would firstly take their name and contact details. I would ask for their phone number in case for any reason they get disconnected at any point during the call, we are then still able to call them back. Next I would find out what the problem was and what department they spoke to and then transfer them on to one of the secretaries with the obtained information. 1.8 Describe organisation structures and communication channels within an organisation At Musgrove there are certain channels we would go down depending on what the call was regarding. I often receive calls that I am unable to deal with so need to redirect to other lines in our department. Patients often contact my line querying their appointments and as I am unable to help them with this I transfer them to the Appointments office next door. To do this I would, firstly inform the caller that I was going to transfer them to the Appointments office where their query could be answered. I would then press the Recall button on the telephone and dial the four digit extension number for one of the girls in charge of arranging appointments. When they answered I would briefly explain the callers query and then hang up, thus connecting the caller to the transferred line. It is important to keep the explanation brief so you don’t keep the patient waiting any longer than is absolutely necessary. If for any reason no one was available to take the call in appointments I would then need to transfer the call back to the caller by pressing the recall button followed by *1. I would then need to explain that they were busy at present so offer them the number to call them directly. If I receive any complaints over the telephone the first action I would take would be to transfer the call through to one of the secretaries as they are better equipped to deal with such situations. Depending on the outcome of their conversation they may need to be transferred on to PALS where they can deal with the complaint more appropriately. 1.9 Describe how to follow organisational procedures when making a telephone call It’s always important to introduce yourself and state where you are calling from for example if I was making a call to a GP surgery I would start the call by saying – â€Å"Hello my name’s Nic and I’m calling from the cardiology department at Musgrove Park Hospital† I would make sure prior to making the call that I had any questions needed to ask, to hand or know what information I required from the telephone conversation. This way you ensure that the phone call is carried out efficiently, it is always good to recap the conversation where appropriate to confirm you have all the correct and accurate information needed. It is important to always remain polite and  speak clearly whilst on the telephone. You need to remember that you are representing your company so need to stay professional. Working at a Hospital you must always be aware and careful about who you are speaking to, ensuring that you only give out patient details to appropriate people such as GP surgeries, other local Hospitals or of course the patient themselves. 1.10 and 2.9 Explain how to report telephone system faults To be able to be as precise and informative as possible, concerning a telephone system fault, will usually help to resolve the issue as fast and simply as possible. If there was a fault with my telephone system at work I would firstly make sure it was not a simple error my end – for example if the telephone line had accidently been pulled out of the wall, or if the receiver was not put back on the stand correctly, meaning you were not getting any calls connected. After checking these simple things, if there was still a problem I would inform my mentor or one of the secretaries in case it was an error they were familiar with. Failing that I would contact the switchboard regarding the error or possibly the IT department. 2. Understand how to receive and transfer telephone calls 2.1 Describe how to identify callers and their needs Within the hospital many calls are made internally between offices and departments. I especially deal with calls like these when other departments are requesting patient notes that are located to the Cardiology department. The caller would state their name and department when I answered the phone as this is trust procedure. I may then ask â€Å"how can I help you† although this would not normally be necessary for this type of call as the caller would have already said â€Å"I need a set of notes that are currently traced to you†. I would next ask them for the patient’s full name and medical record number. I would also reconfirm the department they were calling from, where the notes were needed and the date the notes needed to be with them. I would also ask the caller for their extension number so I could ring them back if needed, for example if I couldn’t locate the notes or if they needed the notes as soon as possible so were coming to collect them when they were ready. All of this information would be written down in a note pad so I  always had it to hand if I needed to refer back to it at any point. 2.2 Explain the purpose of giving accurate and up to date information to callers Giving a customer accurate information over the telephone is crucial to the success and reputation of a business and could determine their future. If a caller is phoning a company regarding a price on a product they are selling and are told the wrong information, the customer will have instantly lost their trust in the company and as a result are almost certain to take their business elsewhere. It will not only make the company look inadequate but unprofessional also. At Musgrove it is very important to relay accurate and up-to-date information, whether it is directly to a patient or to a GP surgery regarding a patient. It is especially important within a hospital environment as inaccurate information could result in possible life threatening situations for patients and a lot of unnecessary worry and upset. When a patient is making a telephone call to the hospital they are often likely to be anxious and worried and will need to be put at ease and reassured. To be able to do this it’s important to answer their queries promptly and professionally with accurate information delivered in a clear and concise way as this will also help to build trust with the patient. 2.3 Explain the purpose of confidentiality and security when dealing with callers When talking to somebody over the phone there is no easy way to validate the identity of the caller, nothing to easily confirm to you that they are who they say they are. This is why often customers have to identify themselves with a password when speaking with a company over the phone regarding sensitive and personal information. Confidentiality and security procedures must be strictly followed and adhered to within the hospital under the Data Protection Act 1989. If a patient calls the office at work enquiring about an investigation or treatment they are due to have or indeed have had and are waiting for the results, the secretary taking the call must always ask for some personal details about themselves before disclosing any information. Even then there is only limited information they are permitted to tell the patient over the phone. They often have to wait until a letter arrives in the post as this is a much more secure way of conveying the  information. 2.4 Describe the types of information that could affect confidentiality and security and how to handle these The Data Protection Act was put in to place in 1998 to prevent confidential or security information from being shared or being released to the public. Peoples personal details such as their National insurance number, Pin numbers for their bank accounts or passwords for access to information are all things that must be kept confidential at all times. Everyone at Musgrove is responsible for keeping confidential information confidential and disclosing any private details would actually be breaking the law. At work we see a lot of patient’s medical records, these are also strictly confidential and we must not share this information with anyone who is not authorised to see them. At work if we come in to contact with medical records that belong to somebody we know they must immediately be passed on to another member of staff to deal with, as seeing them would compromise the confidentiality and privacy of the individual. There was recently a massive confidentiality breach within the hospital when a celebrity visited the hospital and a member of staff put a message about it on twitter. With so many social media outlets these days it makes it even more vital to keep information private, I believe the employee was dismissed from the trust and rightly so. 2.5 Describe ways of identifying the appropriate person to whom a call is transferred Often the caller won’t have a name of the person they want to speak to so it is always good to reconfirm that they have called the right department. If they are a little unsure it is important to ask briefly what the call is reference to, this would then hopefully give you enough information to know the appropriate person to deal with it. At work there’s usually only a few different locations I may need to transfer calls to. I sometimes take calls from patients that need to reschedule a future appointment or that just want some information about it. In this case I would tell the patient that I needed to transfer them through to the appointments office, where somebody could help them with their query. I also have calls form patients and GP surgeries that I sometimes are unable to deal with myself. In these circumstances I would transfer them through to  one of the secretaries, whoever was taking the phones that day. If I was still unsure on a call I would explain to the caller that I just need to put them on hold for a minute while I try to determine the most appropriate person to help them by speaking to the secretaries for advice. 2.6 Describe the information to be given when transferring calls or leaving messages After you have established who the caller is and why they are calling you then need to refer them to the correct or most appropriate person. I would explain to them that I was transferring them on so to please bear with me for a minute while I do so. Next I would push the recall button and the appropriate extension number. I would tell the member of staff I was forwarding them on to, who the caller was, where they were calling from and any information I had about what their call was regarding. When taking a message for someone at work I have actually prepared a message slip that I use to ensure I obtain all the appropriate information. On this slip I record the caller’s name, where they are calling from, what the caller’s contact number is, who the message is for, the actual message, I also record the date and time of the call so when I pass the message on they are aware of timescales. 2.7 Describe how to identify problems and who to refer them to A problem we have previously experienced at work is calls being lost when being transferred between phones. In this instance I would contact the member of staff who was transferring the call to me to see if they had the caller’s phone number or any information about them so I could call them back. Calling them back will show that you care and that you are efficient in your work. If this is a problem that continues to happen it must mean that there is a connection fault of some sort so it should be reported to the switchboard to the IT department so they can log it and hopefully sort it. 2.8 Describe how to follow organisational procedures when receiving a telephone call When receiving calls within the department we always answer with our name and the department we are in, this way the caller will instantly know if they have phoned the right location which will also save wasting anyone’s time. Another of the trust’s procedures is answering the  telephone within three rings, this is important to do as nobody likes being left waiting for someone to answer a call, especially when it could be anxious patients or patient’s relatives.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Ooad Design Specifications

Restaurant All-in-one Management System (RAMs) Design Specification with UML by Leung Chun Kit and Leung Ting Fong 03011720 and 03011739 (Group 22) COMP 2221 Lecturer: Prof. Jiming Liu December 4, 2004 I. Table of Content I. Table of Content1 II. Graphical Notion Used2 Notation of Use Case Diagram2 Notation of Class Diagram2 Notation of Sequence Diagram3 1. Use Case Diagram4 1. 1. Use Case Diagram of End User Acting with the RAMsystem4 2. Class Diagram5 2. 1. Class Diagram of RAMsystem5 3. Sequence Diagram6 3. 1. Sequence Diagram of staff6 3. 2. Sequence Diagram of manager8 3. 3. Sequence Diagram of administrator9II. Graphical Notion Used Notation of Use Case Diagram [pic] Notation of Class Diagram [pic] Notation of Sequence Diagram [pic] 1. Use Case Diagram 1. Use Case Diagram of End User Acting with the RAMsystem Description: End users(administrator, manager, staff) can perform ordering, editing ,checking and management function insider the RAMsystem. End user can use food ordering function and food editing function only bill had been created by user. Only manager can manage the duty roaster. No one can edit the database or checks the password database execpt the administrator. [pic] 2. Class Diagram 1.Class Diagram of RAMsystem Description: All user and database of RAMsystem is created by the administrator. Administrator can modify any of the data in the RAMsystem. Staff and manager can create or edit bill but only manager can edit duty roaster. Bill has id, date and cost. Each bill has a unique id. User can be categorized into 3 types, administrator, manager and staff. All users have their own unique id and password. Both the administrator and the other user can change their own password. However, administrator can change the password everyone. [pic] 3. Sequence Diagram 1. Sequence Diagram of staff Description:Staff can only add order, create bill, check bill. As well as edit the bill that responsible by he/she and check duty. [pic][pic] [pic] [pic] 2. Sequ ence Diagram of manager Description: Manager can do all the function which the staff has the right to do if. Furthermore, manager can edit any of the bills but not only that responsible by he/she. Also, manager can also manage duty roaster and check all the data in the database except the database that store the password. [pic] [pic] 3. Sequence Diagram of administrator Description: Administrator can do all the function of the RAMsystem including modify all of the databases. [pic]

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Psychological Warfare in the United States Military essays

Psychological Warfare in the United States Military essays Psychological Warfare in the United States military The use of psychology in war is as old as war itself. In ancient Greece, Thermistocles sent his men ashore to carve messages urging the Ionians not to fight against the Athenians (Pease 3). Known as psychological warfare, it is the attempt by one nation to gain an advantage over another by exploiting fear, mistrust, suspicion, rumor, prejudice, and uncertainty to influence international opinion and/or the frame of mind of the opposing soldiers. Psychological warfare is designed to affect the enemys mind, influencing him to take an action, even against his conscious will, favorable to his opponent (Pease xiii). The United States government employs psychological warfare, known as Psychological Operations (PSYOP), to secure national objectives in times of conflict as well as peace. They are a vital part of the broad range of U.S. political, military, economic, and ideological activities. The ultimate objective of United States military psychological operations is to convince ene my, neutral, and friendly nations and forces to take actions favorable to the United States and its interests. This is accomplished, with varied effectiveness, through several methods and techniques, both on the strategic and tactical levels (Payne). Psychological warfare is also utilized by the United States on civilians and the general population of liberated territories. This branch of psychological operations is known as consolidation (Pease 9). Strategic, Tactical, and Consolidation Psychological Operations On the strategic level, psychological operations are utilized to accomplish long-term objectives. Employed on a global scale, strategic psychological operations are directed at a much wider audience, or a few key communicators (Hunter). Strategic operations may also be used on a somewhat smaller scale, known as the operational scale. Here, psychological operations are ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

50 Handy Expressions About Hands

50 Handy Expressions About Hands 50 Handy Expressions About Hands 50 Handy Expressions About Hands By Mark Nichol Do you know all these expressions about hands? Most of them are cliches, but using just about any cliche is forgivable if you do so in a fresh way, or to add a note of humor. 1. â€Å"All hands on deck,† from the traditional nautical command for every sailor to report for duty, refers to the necessity of everyone involved to lend a hand, or assist. 2. To bite the hand that feeds you is to be hostile to someone who has been kind to you. 3. To be a dab hand is, in British English, to be an expert. 4. â€Å"The devil makes work for idle hands† is a proverb that means that inactive people are susceptible to the temptation to do wrong. 5. To know something firsthand is to be directly familiar with the facts. 6. To force someone’s hand is to compel them to act prematurely or involuntarily. 7. Having a free hand is being given wide latitude about how to carry out a task or responsibility. 8. To gain the upper hand is to obtain control. 9. To get your hands dirty is to engage in a important activity that may not be pleasant. 10. To give a hand is to help, though it also refers to applauding by clapping one’s hands. 11. To give a guiding hand is to offer advice or mentorship. 12. Something that goes hand in hand with something else is closely associated with it. 13. To be in good, or safe, hands is to be assured that you will be taken care of. 14. To hand something down is to offer it to an heir, or to deliver a decision. 15. To hand in something is to deliver it. 16. To work hand in glove is to work together intimately. 17. To hand something off is to pass it along to someone else, with the connotation of delegating it. 18. To hand something on is to pass it along to someone else in succession. 19. To hand something out is to offer it to recipients. 20. To hand something over is to deliver it to someone in authority, perhaps reluctantly or unwillingly. 21. To earn money hand over fist is to do so quickly. 22. To hand something to somebody on a platter (often a silver one) is to enable them to achieve something without effort. 23. To hand something up is to present it to a higher authority, such as grand jury to a judge. 24. To win hands down is to do so conclusively. 25. To be hands-off is to distance oneself from an activity or project. 26. To be hands-on is to directly involve oneself in an activity or project. 27. To have blood on one’s hands is to be culpable for an act. 28. When you tell someone you have to hand it to them, you’re giving them a compliment. 29. To have your hands full is to be busy. 30. To act with a heavy hand is to do so harshly or with too much force. 31. A heavy-handed gesture or action is one that is lacking in subtlety. 32. When the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, it means that communication among associates is poor. 33. To lend a hand is to assist. 34. To know something like the back of one’s hand is to know it thoroughly. 35. To live from hand to mouth is to be poor. 36. To be an old hand is to be familiar with or to be an expert at something. 37. To say that something is on hand is to indicate that it is available. 38. â€Å"On the other hand† is a synonym for however or â€Å"by contrast.† 39. To overplay your hand is to try too hard to achieve an objective, resulting in failure or complication. 40. Something that gets out of hand has gone out of control. 41. To play into someone’s hands is to be manipulated by an opponent into doing something advantageous to that person and detrimental to yourself. 42. â€Å"Put your hands up† is a command by law enforcement personnel directing someone to raise their hands so that they are in clear view and not likely to reach for a weapon. 43. To raise one’s hand is to lift an arm to indicate that one wishes to volunteer to perform a task or respond to a question. 44. A show of hands is a display of raised hands by those in a group in favor of or opposed to a proposal. 45. To take someone by the hand is to lead or nurture them. 46. To take the law into your own hands is to seek to right or avenge a wrong yourself rather than appeal to law enforcement for assistance. 47. To throw your hands up is to figuratively acknowledge defeat or frustration. 48. To be underhanded is to be deceitful. 49. To wash your hands of something is to absolve yourself of responsibility. 50. To say â€Å"When one hand washes the other† (the implied conclusion to the phrase is â€Å"and together they wash the face†) is to suggest that cooperation encourages success. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" Best Websites to Learn English30 Words Invented by Shakespeare

Sunday, November 3, 2019

The Aspect of Family within Asian Culture Research Paper

The Aspect of Family within Asian Culture - Research Paper Example The analysis of the aspect of family within the Asian culture will focus on the nuclear and extended family, children and up keeping, marriage and divorce, and the respect accorded to parents. Other aspects that are of some importance include the effect of family on business relationships, and some few aspects that will be added in the paper. Asian family culture demands that families stay as close to one another as possible, so it is not uncommon to find completely close knit families in the Asian tradition and cultures (Abazov, 20). Existing literature states that the family is the most important part of the Asian make-up; therefore, considerations for the nuclear family take center stage in every individual’s life. This means that an individual will always consider the immediate family in every action. An example of this fact is the communal activity that each family will engage in together; an analysis of the culture reveals that most families will have communal activities to bring the family together, for example, during meal times; it is not uncommon to find the whole family eating together. As indicated, the aspect of the family in the Asian culture takes priority over all other aspects, which is probably a means of increasing family cohesion and instilling cultural values in the children. Relations in the nuclear family are normally blurred, since an individual is normally expected to have the same consideration for the extended family as the nuclear family. Therefore, it is to be expected that an extended family will live together in complete harmony, and the aspect of the nuclear family is only seen in urbanized areas. An analysis of the Asian family culture also indicates that the Asian culture has a deep rooted sense of respect for all family members, as is indicated by the values taught to children at a tender age (Teng 63). The Confucian system dictates that the sense of respect is instilled in the family values that are taught to children and all other members of the society. In the Asian culture, it is not uncommon to find several parts of the family brought together to honor other parts of the family. The Asian culture reveals that the identity of an individual is focused on the collective rather that the self. This means that an individual will have consideration for the whole society rather than the individualistic aspect. In the Western and American culture, it is common to find individuals with considerations only for the self, however, in the Asian culture, an individual is instilled with the values of the collective society, and therefore, an individual will consider the family before the self. As already mentioned, the Confucian system of family values is entrenched in the Asian tradition, therefore, it is to be expected that an individual will consider all other people before the self. According to Confucian tradition, all families have hierarchies, and every member of the family has a special part to play in the smooth running of the family (Hung and Smith). For example, the father in the house is the undisputed head of the family and is expected to provide for his wife and offspring without fail. The Confucian theory of family values dictates that the family is more important than the individual, so the eldest son in the family also has their own responsibility. For example, the eldest son is expected to have responsibility to the parents, siblings, and finally to the wife and daughters. The previous aspect discussed brings to light another aspect of the Asian

Friday, November 1, 2019

Critically study of Negotiation Skills 03071 Essay

Critically study of Negotiation Skills 03071 - Essay Example The study is going to provide critical evaluation of the negotiation process. Different theories of negotiation stated to cite that negotiation process is adopted among the almost each and every individual. Further, this study outlines the process of negotiation among the individuals, local authority, SME and society. Negotiation is mainly a collateral process of getting the concern of two or more parties. In general term, negotiation is the process of collective bargaining that promotes a process of transaction of anything between two or more parties. This process is promoting aim of welfare of both the parties, along with the requirements and expectation of parties associated with the negotiation process. On the other hand, it utilises common ground that empowers stake of both the parties. Moreover, it promotes the harmony among the parties regarding any settlement. In addition, negotiation is also made on the basis of the mutual concern that makes the resolution of any sort of conflict. Negotiation processes are proved to be one of the most important processes in the daily life of people and operations of any business (Barkemeyer and Figge, 2011). On the contrary, negotiation term is used in banking and financial sectors also. Negotiation in this type of industry refers to the acceptance of any sort of transaction or future buy and sells financial instruments. In addition, it is observed that financial instruments are mainly facing negotiation process in the trading terms. However, contracting segments are looking for making proper compensation of the client and involved parties. Contracts are adopting negotiation actions in terms of making proper bidding of transactions. However, negotiation will be increasing outcomes of contract policies. Negotiation is involved in the trading processes also. Mainly in the globalised era, organisations are making proper negotiation in terms of trading the different instruments and commodities

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Four functions of management case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Four functions of management - Case Study Example However, you did not put some of the management functions in place. It was the reason for the business failures as the business grew in size. The management skills, which accrue to a business’s success that you did not put into consideration, include controlling, planning, organizing, and directing skills that accrue to a successful business. Directing: One of the reasons that affected the business’ success was your directive skills. According to your business statistics, you employed Lisa and entrusted her with all the business operations. Irrespective of you two being friends for a long time, you should not have trusted her with all the directive orders. She would report to work, wash the office and tidy up then start her daily chores. This was a lot for her and what she had not expected. She had to check all the tax forms and serve all the customers. For a business to be successful and achieve the goals and objectives, it should ensure a proper channel of communicati on between the workers (Richman 2012). Lisa had confidence that she was doing the right thing even after adding the three new employees. You should have controlled all of them since you are the senior manager. You should have given your orders to the employees in case of any changes, which should have been directly, or indirectly through According to Directive Path Theory, a business leader should give freedom to his/his employees for them to realize their job expectations. In reference to the theory, your management should do a follow up on employees’ tasks to ensure that they achieve the required job standards and set goals. Remarkably, members of the management are required to involve the subordinate staff in the process of making strategic decisions. You should have involved your employees in decision-making processes that would have helped produce effective workplace union. Employees can also motivated by awarding them accordingly after excellent progress in their work. Awards can be through issuing of presents and souvenir just as you did in your case. Additionally, you did not put your supervisions skills into consideration hence led to your employees taking advantage of the situation. As for Lisa’s case, she would not let you down due to your close relationship but the other employees would due to lack of an employee-employer relationship. It was the cause for the embezzlement of funds by your accountants. Communication is an essential measure in business management and should be employed to ensure a communication between top management and the junior staff (Richman, 2012). Communication avenues includes vertical and horizontal. In your case, you only emphasized on vertical communication. It entailed her communication skills with Lisa but not the other accountants. However, you did not consider horizontal type of communication. Good management skills allow both horizontal and vertical communication that entails an open office where commun ication occurs from all sides. These sides include communication from the senior management to the junior staff and the vice versa. Management should ensure an open office relationship where you allow your staff to make suggestions on issues before making decisions. Planning: On the issue of planning, you had good plans while establishing the job. You hired just one employee to cut costs that would boost the capital needed. However, according to management theories on planning, duties should be

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Late Development And The Challenges Facing Late Developers Economics Essay

Late Development And The Challenges Facing Late Developers Economics Essay On the world stage, the list of the wealthiest countries has been dominated by European nations for the past six hundred years. Mid-last century a shift occurred that has seen the emergence of Asian countries growing at rapid rates. The surge was led by Japan and was quickly followed by those now known as the Asian Tigers. What problems did these countries overcome to grow so quickly while at the same time so many other nations are trapped in the quagmire of poverty and debt? Additionally, what challenges do the countries attempting development later than others face if they wish to emulate the Asian Tigers? This essay will briefly explain the problem of late development before outlining the challenges faced by late developers. Broadly speaking development implies wish to shift from an undesired state to a more desirable state; in this case a movement away from the situation of inequality and poverty to that of more equality and less poverty. Inequality in terms of social, cultural, economic and political needs is widespread in the world, not just between nations but within populations of nations. Such inequality leads to the poverty experienced by the populations of the undeveloped and developing nations of the word, causing millions of needless deaths every year around the world. Before any explanation or hypothesis regarding development of nations can be carried out, the term poverty requires discussion. An orthodox view of poverty is not having sufficient money to buy food and other basic material needs  [1]  . An alternate view of poverty is where people are not able to meet their own material and non-material needs through their own effort. The subtle difference between the two definitions will be expanded later in this essay. Additional to discussing poverty, the term development needs discussion. To determine the status of a nation as developed, developing or underdeveloped requires the use of a metric, criterion or standard of some kind. Which form of measure is hotly debated and is a very contentious issue. Different measures that can be used are national gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, level of economic industrialization or the Human Development Index (HDI) to name a few and the selection of which one determines the rankings of nations. During the Cold War, the terms First, Second and Third World were used to describe the USA, Soviet and non-aligned blocks of countries. The term Third World became synonymous with underdeveloped and developing countries and to this day is misused to describe these countries. THE PROBLEMS OF LATE DEVELOPMENT The same problems face developing countries, regardless of the metric used to measure a nations development ranking. The prime problem facing developing nation is their late start compared to the more advanced industrialised countries that are generally accepted as being developed. Late development precludes nations from using the first mover advantages of economies of scale, positive network effects and the ease of sourcing investment funds  [2]  . Nations that get a head start in an industry have the ability to compete evenly against other nations starting at the same time in that industry. As capacity builds, the high costs of initial production, research and development, and low levels of output alter because of innovation and improvement leading to more effective and cheaper production methods, enhanced products, and higher levels of output. All these factors enable the distribution of fixed costs, such as production and transport costs, across the greater output, thus lowering the final cost of an item. These economies of scale enable the first mover to produce a product at a lower cost than a late developer, which in turn, allows the first mover to either undercut late starters or make more profit when selling at the same price  [3]  . Late developers hence need to find ways around the economies of scale factor such as using cheaper local labour for production, leveraging off any local raw materials or new areas to in novate. A good example of the economies of scale at work is the early motor vehicle industry. The Ford Motor Company is generally credited with the first use of a production line type manufacturing method in the automotive industry that enabled Ford to mass produce cars at prices much cheaper than the completion. Follower companies adopted the same technology, but not after Ford had gained a significant market share in North America and enabled the company to create a world-wide manufacturing base that was not seriously challenged for over half a century  [4]  . Starting an industry or sector of technology first attracts people and firms into the area where that technology is found, thus creating a centre of excellence in terms of equipment and personnel. The network effect  [5]   of a centre of excellence also adds to the economics of scale effects, as raw material supplies are only shipped into one area and conversely distribution centres can also be centralised. Additionally, distributed manufacturing within such a network is sped up and costs reduced due to close proximity, thus reducing costs and time effects. Late starters wishing to build their own competing centres of excellence face the obstacle of attracting expertise away from established areas. The inability to match wage rates and favourable conditions of established centres of excellence need to be countered at the new location, often by government subsidies, low tax rates and favourable trade conditions. Well known examples of successful secondary centres of excellence are the Japanese automotive industry following America and the New Zealand and Australian movie production centres following in the footsteps of Hollywood and Bollywood. The effects of globalisation and easy flow of information and technology are continuing to reduce the need to physically concentrate people and industry; hence the network effects are being reduced for the first mover. Sourcing investment funds for any new industry is a challenge, yet sourcing funds to compete against a developed nations established industry is even more difficult. The first mover nations have the advantage of having the first opportunity to attract investment capital, whether internal to the nation or externally via foreign investment. Regardless of the source of investment funds, late developers seeking funding must compete against established industries with proven return rates and known levels of risk, therefore pay higher interest rates. These higher interest rates further erode the profit margin of the late developer and make their products less attractive on price and company success rates lower. THE CHALLENGES FACING LATE DEVELOPERS In light of the problems face by late developers, why is striving for development so important? United Nations former Secretary General Kofi Annan described a developed country as one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment implying that developing and undeveloped countries citizens do not enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment. The orthodox, or liberalist, view of development describes its purpose as the requirement to move from a subsistence economy to an industrialised and modern economy  [6]  . Compare such a view with the alternate or more socialist view, where the purpose of development is to create human well-being through sustainable societies in social, cultural, economic and political means. These two viewpoints differ significantly but suffer from overlapping sets of challenges that need addressing to successfully develop a nation. The orthodox view of development identifies a strong trend between development and industrialisation. This view sees industrialisation as a better path for growth of a nation than agriculture or resource extraction as there is a greater potential for capital accumulation. This growth is due to the higher productivity achieved with successful industrialisation, which in turn leads to better wage growth, better skill and expertise growth, and the unlimited potential of the free-market. Such an approach generally requires a top-down governmental control process, using external capital investment to attract technology and stimulate private sector growth. Using industrialisation as the pathway to growth and development has the disadvantages of exposing a nation to both the good and bad aspects of globalisation. Fast and freer information flows, financial deregulation, access to technology and exposure to the global villages cultural influence can have positive and negative effects on both markets and populations. The effects of global financial institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and open finance markets can lead to a nations own monetary policy having little control on capital availability and exchange rate control; a critical factor in ensuring a stable economy  [7]  . Ostensibly, small and vulnerable nations can be either manipulated easily or must flow global trends with few ability to cause self-determination in the globalised finance market. The alternate view of development takes a different approach to development. In this view the final target of development is not necessarily parity with developed nations using convention metrics, such as GDP per capita, but a more holistic vision of a journey towards self-sufficiency, self-reliance and unity rather than outright fiscal wealth. In this respect, development is more a process rather than a target. The fundamental difference to the orthodox view is that the alternate view is a bottom up process and involves the respect of nature and culture, political inclusion of marginalised groups and local control of resources and investments. Comparing the two very different approaches identifies that there are challenges to both, including some common challenges. The orthodox view has the advantage of potentially providing greater growth rates and hence reducing inequality between nations, but often at the cost of higher internal inequality as the gap between the richest and poorest within a nation widens. This effect is sometimes called the unavoidable consequence of economic growth  [8]  . Opponents to the orthodox view also content that sustained development is only viable through further growth within a global free-market, which benefits the suppliers of the initial capital more than the nation seeking development  [9]  . Conversely, the alternate view of development suffers the potential problem of creating slower growth rates than embracing outright industrialism and its side effects. This approach also requires assistance from external to the country, but more often in the form of education and material re sources, rather than direct capital injection. The Chipko movement in India and the rubber tapper movement in the Amazon are examples of successful grass roots versions of the alternate development methods  [10]  . Both are relatively small scale and limited to regions and ethnicities rather than whole nations. Both approaches suffer from the challenges of overcoming education, literacy, environmental and health issues which all slow rates of growth. Additionally, corruption is seen as a huge obstacle to developing nations, specifically in autocratic and flawed democracies. Later in the development cycle nations that grow strongly need to be able to keep their exchange rate competitive by neutralize the tendency of the exchange rate to head toward overvaluation  [11]  . This problem is related to the Dutch disease  [12]  , the policy of growth with foreign savings, and to exchange rate populism. CONCLUSION In summary, it can be seen that development of countries is import to reduce the gap between the most advanced nations in the world and the least. Development leads to a reduction in suffering by people who cannot meet their own needs through their own means, while at the same time enabling societies to become sustainable in economic, political and cultural terms. The process of development is slow and the challenges are many. Overcoming the problems of being a late developer is complex and difficult, but demonstrably possible as the Asian Tiger nations and other Newly Industrialised Countries have proven. Striving to industrialise by increasing exports has been a successful development strategy for the Asian Tiger countries, but not all nations have been successful using this technique. Local political, geographical and geological environments can both help and hinder development, as can the effects of globalisation by open both market and financial flows. While the history of development success shows that the crux of change is primarily national and local, such change now takes place in an increasingly globalised world of ever tighter political, economic, and cultural ties. The problems faced by developing nations are many and no universal answer or solution exists. Each nation that wishes to develop needs to create a development plan unique to their nation, based on their specific politics, cultures, resources, skills and geography. Only then can real and sustains development occur. Word Count = 2050

Friday, October 25, 2019

Tesco Marketing Strategy :: Marketing Business Management Essays

Tesco marketing strtegy Incomplete PART ONE STRATEGIC ANALYSIS Managers face difficulties in trying to understand the encionment. First  ¡Ã‚ °the environment ¡Ã‚ ¯ encapsulates many different influences; the difficulty is making sense of this diversity in a way which can contribute to strategic decision making. The second difficulty is that of uncertainty, managers typically claim that the pace of technological change and the speed of global communications mean more and faster change now than ever before. 1.Analysing the environment 1.1 Auditing Environmental Influence------PEST Analysis As a starting point, it is useful to consider what environmental influences have been particularly important in the past, and the extent to which there are changes occurring which may make any of these more or less significant in the future for the organization and its competitors. PEST Analysis involves identifying the political, economic, social and technological influences on an organization. It is increasingly useful to relate such influences to growing trends towards globalizations-of possible futures, to consider the extent to which strategies might need to change. 1) Political/legal - Monopolies legislation - Environmental protection laws - Taxation policy - Foreign trade regulations - Employment law - Government stability 2) Economic factors - Business cycles - GNP trends - Interest rates - Money supply - Inflation - Unemployment - Disposable income - Energy availability and cost 3) Socio cultural factors - Population demographics - Income distribution - Social mobility - Lifestyle changes - Attitudes to work and leisure - Consumerism - Levels of education 4) Technological - Government spending on research - Government and industry focus on technological effort - New discoveries/development - Speed of technology transfer - Rates of obsolescence 1.2 The Competitive Environment-------Five Force Model The next step in environmental analysis is moves the focus towards an explicit consideration of the immediate environment of the organization-for example, the competitive arena in which the organization operates. Five-force analysis provides a means of identifying the forces which determine the nature of the competitive environment, especially in terms of: 1) Barriers to entry. 2) The power of buyers. 3) The power of suppliers. 4) The threat of substitutes. 5) Other reasons for the extent of competitive intensity. 1.3 Identifying The Organization ¡Ã‚ ¯s Competitive Position---------Strategic Group Analysis STRATEGIC GROUP ANALYSIS The next major step in environmental analysis is analysis the organization ¡Ã‚ ¯s competitive position that is how it stands in relation to other organizations competing for the same resources, or customers, as it. One problem in analyzing competition is that the idea of the  ¡Ã‚ °industry ¡Ã‚ ± is not always helpful because its boundaries can be unclear and are not likely to provide a sufficiently precise delineation of competition. Strategic group analysis aims to identify organizations with similar strategic characteristics, following similar strategies or competing on similar bases.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Biological and Cognitive Development Essay

Developmental psychology studies the changes and how such changes occur over a course of an individual’s life events. It seeks to understand the changes that are universal, the changes that occur regardless of the individual’s culture or experiences. Moreover, it also seeks to understand why and how individual differences occur – why some people respond one way in a particular situation while others respond quite differently. Further, developmental psychology is particularly concerned with the process by which behavior changes during an individual’s lifetime. By studying biological and cognitive development, psychologists and humanity hope to better understand, predict, and modify an individual’s behavior. BIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT Biological development refers to the changes in the body and brain from the moment of conception to old age. This development greatly influences people’s behavior. Three of these biological-related events are prenatal, from childhood to adolescent, and adult to aging. In prenatal development, the individual grows from a single fertilized egg cell, known as the zygote to an infant with billions of specialized cells. This period is divided into 3 stages: namely, the germinal, embryonic, and fetal changes. In the germinal stage, the zygote has become a small mass of cells; in the germinal stage, the fetus` brain and heart begin to develop, arms and legs appear, limbs and critical internal organs are rapidly developing; and in the fetal stage, the fetus` respiratory system has developed. So at the end of prenatal period, an individual have grown from a single cell into an amazingly complex individual who, on average, is about 20 inches long and weighs about 7. 5 pounds. The brain during the prenatal development begins to develop between the second and third week after fertilization, and by 3. 5 weeks a primitive nervous system is present. By the time of birth, virtually all of the approximately 100 billion neurons in the human brain are already present (Cowan, 1979). In the child development, an individual is like a virtual growing machine. By the age of 2, the average child is about 70 % taller than at birth and nearly 400 % heavier (Eichorn, 1989). As a rule of thumb, girls grow tall to about half their adult height by 18 months of age while the boys by the age of 2. Between the ages of 2 and 5 years, physical growth slows dawn and then levels off at a relatively steady rate until adolescence. The beginning of adolescence is also the onset of sexual maturation or puberty. The usual sequence of changes that occur during sexual maturation for girls are the following: breasts and pubic hair begin to develop and the onset of menstruation. For the boys, the first signs of puberty are the growth of penis and testes and the appearance of pubic hair. These early signs of sexual maturation take place during a rapid increase in height, muscle size and strength especially for the boys with growth peak at about the age of 14 years old. The girls on the other hand have their growth peak at 12 years old. However, boys grow taller than girls on average. But the growth of different parts o f the body is not uniform during the growing years. Physical growth ceases, on average, at about 18 years of age in girls and 20 years of age in boys. However, biological development does not stop until the end of life. The brain also grows rapidly during this period. At birth, the brain is about 25 % of its adult weight and size. By the age of 2, it has grown to about 75 % of its adult weight. Although all of a person’s neurons are present at birth, the number and complexity of the connections among neurons increase substantially after birth (Parmelee and Sigman, 1983), and this increase is partly responsible for the growth in brain size. Further, the increased neural connections and the development of myelin make possible more and more complex behavior and thought as an individual grows. In some areas of the brain, these developmental changes continue until adulthood (Parmelee and Sigman, 1983). The adult and aging life events are basically a declining stage. A variety of biological developments takes place as people age, including redistribution of body fat, decrease in bone mass, and decrease in muscle size and speed of contraction. Biological changes progress into old age. Many elderly people actually become shorter, partly because they slump and partly because of a decrease in bone mass. Muscle size and speed of contraction also decrease. Aging also takes its toll on internal body organs. The heart muscles become weaker, blood flow decreases, and breathing capacity continues to decline. Physical performance also declines. According to Stones and Kozma (1985), â€Å"these bodily changes are paralleled by declines in physical performance with age†. Beginning at about age 30, a person’s physical speed, strength, and endurance decline at an average rate at about 1. 5 % a year. The brain also continues to change biologically with age (Creasey & Rapoport, 1985). It decreases in size and weight, and some areas of the brain lose 50 percent or more of their neurons, specifically at the age of 50, with an average decrease of 2 % of brain volume every 10 years thereafter (Miller, Altson, and Corsellis, 1980). These age-related changes in the brain undoubtedly contribute to deteriorations of sensory, motor, and cognitive function. But just like biological changes in the body, these age-related changes in the brain are averages – the actual amount of change varies considerably from person to person. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Cognitive development refers to the changes in knowledge about the world or specifically, it refers to the development of sensation and perception, of the ability to learn, to reason, and to solve problems. Just like biological development, cognitive development continues from birth through old age. The three cognitive-related events that I would like to discuss are newborn infants, childhood and aging. In infants, cognitive development begins from the moment of birth as they begin interacting with and gathering information about the world. They have all the rudimentary sensory abilities such as; they can see objects, can tell the different shapes and patterns but can’t change their focus very well. Their vision rapidly improves over the first six months to a year, although it may be several years until it is fully mature. Moreover, infants can also hear at birth but their threshold of hearing is higher and can’t discriminate well between sounds than adults. As with vision, an infant’s hearing improves rapidly over the first year, although it will be several years before it is fully mature. Further, infants have a well-developed sense of taste (Cawart, 1981) as they can discriminate among different tastes; they can also smell and react to different odors; and their sense of touch is particularly well-developed. Infant’s motor behavior consists primarily of reflexes such as rooting, sucking, and grasping. These reflexes gradually give way to coordinated voluntary actions, such as sitting and walking. On the other hand, infant’s can learn from the moment of birth. They show habituation, a simple form of learning where they stop responding to a repeated stimulus. They also learn through operant conditioning, which is making a particular response that brings about either reward or punishments. Although newborn infants can learn, they do not learn as readily as older children as their memory is not as good as that of adults. Children’s cognitive development theory is most influenced by Jean Piaget. He believed that people acquire knowledge by interacting with the world and that they construct knowledge through assimilation, which is incorporating new information and accommodation or modifying old information. He further proposed a series of four stages of cognitive development, where he described children’s basic intellectual abilities sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. According to Piaget, these stages represent qualitatively different ways of thinking that occur relatively and abruptly and in the same sequence for all children. Though many psychologists challenged and modified Piaget`s theory, arguing that cognitive development is not really stagelike, its basic tenets remain widely accepted. During Aging, changes in cognitive abilities seem to decline. This decline may be due to factors such as slow processing of information. Moreover, aging also show declines in memory performance, partly because they use fewer encoding strategies for remembering information and partly because they use fewer cues to retrieve information from memory. But long – term storage itself appears to be relatively unaffected by aging and, under favorable conditions, the elderly are nearly as good as young adults at remembering information. Further, laboratory studies indicate that performance on a variety of problem-solving tasks declines with age. But these studies also show that training and practice can markedly improve older adults` problem-solving performance. What is more, when tasks are familiar and the subjects have experience with them, they show little or no decline in performance with age. Older people have accumulated a lifetime of experience, knowledge, and wisdom that they bring to everyday tasks, and this can offset cognitive deficits that may occur (Canestrari, 1986). The picture of inevitable severe intellectual impairment that many people have of the elderly is therefore, a misconception. So, when we consider each of these life events though discussed separately, we will see that each of these two major threads in the development (biological and cognitive) of the individual are interwoven. Hence, we cannot separate one from the other and thus must be considered when studying about an individual’s development or life-span changes. References Canestrari, R. E. , Jr. (1986). Age changes in acquisition. In G. A. Talland (Ed. ) Human Aging and Behavior (pp. 169-188). New York: Academic Press. Cowan, W. M. (1997). The development of the brain. Scientific American, 241, 113-133. Cowart, B. J. (1981). Development of taste perception in humans: Sensitivity and preference throughout the life span. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 43-73. Creasy, H. & Rappport, S. I. (1985). The aging human brain. Annals of Neurology, 17,2-10. Eichorn, D. H. (1997). Biological Development: Current foci of research. In J. D. Osofsky (Ed. ), Handbook of infant development (pp. 253-282). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Miller, A. K. H. , Altson, R. L. , & Corsellis, J. H. N. (1980). Variation with age in the volume of grey and white matter in the cerebral hemispheres of man. Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology, 6, 119-132. Parmelee, A. H. , Jr. , & Sigman , M. D. (1983). Prenatal brain development and behavior. Handbook of child psychology, Vol II (95-1550. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Piaget, J. (1983). Piaget`s theory. In W. Kessen (Ed. ), Handbook of child psychology (4th ed. ). History , theory, and methods 9pp. 103-128). New York: John Wiley & Sons